Swami Vivekananda

This article is about Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda. For other uses, see Swami Vivekananda (disambiguation).

Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda in Chicago, September 1893. On the left Vivekananda wrote in his own handwriting: "one infinite pure and holy – beyond thought beyond qualities I bow down to thee".[1]
Born	Narendra Nath Datta 12 January 1863 Calcutta, British India
Died	4 July 1902 (aged 39) Belur Math near Calcutta, British India
Nationality	Indian
Founder of	Belur Math, Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission
Guru	Ramakrishna
Philosophy	Vedanta
Literary works	Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Jnana Yoga
Prominent Disciple(s)	Swami Ashokananda, Swami Virajananda, Swami Paramananda, Alasinga Perumal, Swami Abhayananda, Sister Nivedita, Swami Sadananda
Influence on[show]
Quotation	Come up, O lions, and shake off the delusion that you are sheep; you are souls immortal, spirits free, blest and eternal; ye are not matter, ye are not bodies; matter is your servant, not you the servant of matter.[2] (See more quotations in Wikiquote)
Signature

Swami Vivekananda

(Bengali: [ʃami bibekanɒnɖo] ( listen), Shāmi Bibekānando; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendra Nath Datta^[3] (Bengali: [nɔrend̪ro nat̪ʰ d̪ɔt̪t̪o]), was an Indian Hindu monk and chief disciple of the 19th-century saint Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world^[4] and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion in the late 19th century.^[5] He was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India and contributed to the notion of nationalism in colonial India.^[6] Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission.^[4] He is perhaps best known for his inspiring speech beginning with "Sisters and Brothers of America,"^[7] through which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893.

Born into an aristocratic Bengali family of Calcutta,^[8] Vivekananda showed an inclination towards spirituality. He was influenced by his guru Ramakrishna from whom he learnt that all living beings were an embodiment of the divine self and, hence, service to God could be rendered by service to mankind.^[9] After the death of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda toured the Indian subcontinent extensively and acquired a first-hand knowledge of the conditions that prevailed in British India.^[10] He later travelled to the United States to represent India as a delegate in the 1893 Parliament of World Religions. He conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes, disseminating tenets of Hindu philosophy in the United States, England and Europe. In India, Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic saint and his birthday is celebrated as the National Youth Day.^[11]